Odds and Ends
by AnHeiressofaSOLDIER
Summary: An alphabetical compilation, about how those saved try to deal with their grief, and to heal, after Kingdom Hearts III. All characters and no pairings, though some could be hinted at, if you squint.


**Odds and Ends**

1\. **Angry**.

Surprisingly, out of all of them, it turned out to be Aqua who was the angriest upon returning.

She'd scream and scream and scream—a luxury that wasn't awarded to her in the Realm of Darkness, lest she attract even _more_ Heartless down upon herself.

Finally, though-when her yells ran out, and she was left alone with the sobs that she'd been repressing for _oh so long_—it was Ven and Terra who helped to pick up their fallen friend again…

Much like she once had for them, when their burdens became too much for _them_ to bear.

2\. **Betrayed**.

Out of all of them, Sora thought that he and Kairi had it the easiest.

Though he had had to deal with his own Darkness recently, and had grown a bit through that, Sora still was one to be optimistic and to not let things get to him.

And for Kairi, as she hadn't been directly involved in things as much as the others had, she was left a bit at a loss on how to comfort them, but she was able to find a moment.

One night, when many of those saved had chosen to camp out on the Play Island-so that they could all be together, and maybe feel just the slightest bit safer—Sora found himself unable to sleep.

Though these certain things really didn't bother him anymore, there _were_ times that his nightmares dug it all up, anyway: what it had felt like to be betrayed by so many….

So, giving up on sleep—and turning to Kairi, who was miraculously still awake beside him—Sora chose to be thankful about something, rather than upset.

He took Kairi's hands into his own, and peered into her eyes, as he whispered quietly. "You're the only person, I think, who didn't let me down even once. Thanks a bunch for that! Kairi. I can't tell you what that means to me," he said the last rather bashfully.

Squeezing his hand in recognition, Kairi giggled slightly. And then his words were met with, "And I never will, Sora. Even if you are a lazy bum. Now, what do you say we get some shuteye? I'm tired."

And finally, Sora found that his mind _did_ feel tired, and peaceful enough for sleep.

And thus the two of them fell into the land of dreams together—their foreheads resting against each other's, as they did so.

3\. **Contrite**.

If there was anything that Terra was after the fall of Xehanort, it was contrite. He would apologize for _everything_—something his attitude would have never allowed him to do, about a decade ago.

And though this was, mostly okay (though Aqua especially worried when he apologized for things that weren't his fault, and when it seemed like he was apologizing just for _existing_), his family worried for him, nonetheless.

And it was Lea of all people, who eventually stepped in to help and reassure Terra.

He had felt the need to apologize for much after what had happened to Roxas and Xion himself, after all.

4\. **Dance**.

At first, nothing had really gotten to Donald. He did care for the King's plight, as well as Sora and the friends his age, of course.

But, since he had only met Ven and Aqua very briefly (and had never met Terra at all), he wasn't as ecstatic to see them all again as everyone else was.

Happy, yes, but not ecstatic.

It was when he was trying to be nice and make conversation with them—that maybe now that they were alive and well, they could go see the Destiny Islands (though by accident, he'd said the word "dance", instead of "destiny"), that it all really hit him.

These three really _were_ much the same as Sora, Riku, and Kairi, and therefore he should have been in _tears_ in thinking about all they had gone through.

And so, Donald _did_ cry again—all the while he wished that there was some sort of "Dance Island" that they could all just live in, and feel safe and at home forever.

5\. **Elected**.

Riku had been watching Naminé warily, after she had gotten back.

Though she put on a good show for people, she didn't smile much and even seemed to be isolating herself from people most of the time...

_Which_ was why he wasn't even the least surprised, when the girl elected to pitch herself off of the Station Tower, since she could no longer live with all her guilt.

Thankfully, though, Riku was there to catch her and save her—as he called her a "silly idiot", and that he did care for her, all the while—and he also helped her through everyday of her hard existence after that, too.

Until, eventually and finally, Naminé began to heal and forgive herself, just the slightest bit.

It was the least he could do for her; Naminé had helped him onto the path of forgiving his own self, hadn't she?

6\. **Finny**.

"Wait..." Ven paused the conversation, whilst he placed his hands behind his head—something for which that Sora had to frown. "You sang in an underwater musical about 'finny fun', Sora? I was with you the whole time, so why didn't I know that?"

As it turned out, Sora had no answer for that question, and neither did Ven.

And Ven... as much as he didn't want to feel this way—and _knew_ it was unfair to, after Sora had saved him and done so much for them—was very much jealous of it.

Why couldn't his own adventure have had crazy and fun moments like that? His stay in the Dwarf Woodlands had been especially bad.

And he- he wanted to sing about fins or something, too, dang it!

And so, fighting the urge to cry, Ven found himself again going to Disney Town, and working with the ice cream machine, that was miraculously still there.

This was the place he'd had the most fun at on his journey, and he was darn tootin' going to play, remember it well, and do some thinkin', dang it!

7\. **Gone**.

At first, Leon didn't believe the news, when he heard that Xehanort—the man that had ruined his life, as well as his childhood home in its entirety—was gone.

He ended up enlisting the King's help, actually, so that he could get a Gummi Ship and look for any leftover pieces of the man, himself.

And when he found none, Leon didn't know what to do anymore.

He'd spent so much of his life rebuilding, and waiting for the other shoe to drop, that now that they could finally achieve peace—and now that Radiant Garden was nearly a shining metropolis again—he felt lost and very depressed about it all.

He wished—he wished that he had had a hand in defeating the name stealer, maybe. If he had, then perhaps he would have felt just a little more validated?

It was a small while after that fact, that a certain Rinoa Heartily placed herself into Leon's heart, and hold on there tightly.

And as Leon—no, Squall—fell in love with her, he was finally able to move forward with his life, and leave all traces of pain, and memories of Xehanort, behind him.

8\. **Heel**.

When he and Isa ended up rooming together, once again—when things had settled down—Lea was meticulous in making sure his childhood friend doesn't feel left out, or anything like that, ever again.

After having been possessed by Xehanort, and having felt hurt by Lea's friendships with Roxas and Xion—Lea thought this was the least he could do for his friend.

In fact, even with their sandwich bread, Lea made sure that Isa never got the leftover, heel part. He didn't want the other man to feel like _he_ was a leftover thought at all.

But one day, when Lea was too tired to really sift through the bread accordingly, Isa got such a piece, after all.

He downed it before Lea could even say or do anything in response. "I deserve this disgusting bread," was his answer given.

And never in all his life had Lea hated himself, or felt so confused and at a loss, more.

9\. **Ink**.

At first, when Xion had volunteered to help ink over some of Naminé's old drawings—as they were being documented as evidence, in case anyone in the future might need them for something again—no one thought anything of it.

They just figured that Xion was being a good friend, and helping Naminé—who was known to overwork herself—out.

But when she got to the pictures of herself, that was when the real problem started.

Xion would work on them for hours, staying up all night, just in order to make sure that she was seen, and would never be forgotten from the pages of history again.

And when Naminé ended up forcing the girl with the tear-filled eyes to look at her, and promised that she'd never let anything that threatened Xion—or her memory—ever happen again, it was very therapeutic.

Xion put her trembling hand into Naminé's calm one, and she got up and walked away from the table and pictures.

And Unknown to Xion, when the wind hit one of the images of herself just right, the piece of art seemed to wink at her behind her back, in polite understanding.

10\. **Joking**.

"Riku, you our new, true Keyblade Master. You have handled yourself well in every situation I have thought to give you; you have defeated your demons, helped the worlds, and even now you are investigating the new and mysterious 'sub worlds'.

"For all of these reasons, I have put your request into utmost consideration. Though I must admit, this is a rather... strange thing to be afraid of, and I at first thought that perhaps you were joking."

"Yes, Master, I know," Riku admitted shamefully, bowing low, before standing ramrod straight, to better face the person he respected so much.

His biggest secret, that he'd come to see Yen Sid about now? That he had a phobia against overly cluttered spaces, and that that was the main reason he'd wanted to leave the Island in the first place.

It was Sora's fault, really, as he had been over to Riku's house _way_ too much, and he… wasn't exactly the cleanest person in the world.

Eventually, nearly before the Island's fall, it had become too much for Riku to take (and using other filthy utensils—like mops—to try and make it better was out of the question for him), and so he'd begun staying outside on his balcony—where it was crisp and clean.

It was a little bit after that, that he'd decided that he _needed_ to see other worlds, to know if they were any cleaner than the Islands were—his disgusting room, especially—or if they'd come up with something that could keep a place tidy forever…

And now, after nearly three years later, Riku thought he'd finally found the answer he'd been looking for.

And thus, he wouldn't have to throw any more logs onto Sora in retribution anymore, would he?

The answer? Why, the enchanted brooms, of course!

"I'm sorry to report this to you, Riku, but I'm afraid I, myself, can't spare even one such cleaning supply. Merlin would be even more loath to part with them, but there might be yet one more answer."

Suddenly, Riku didn't like this game as much anymore. Sure, he got the impression that Yen Sid was much like him—as he'd even, surprisingly, gotten up from his chair to defend his tools—with a hate for unsightliness, but...

Unless he left the Tower with the brooms he'd come looking for, Riku couldn't see himself leaving the world very happily at all.

"We will have Naminé write in your memory for you to clean your room, and then have her make you forget it, once it's done and sparkling. This way, you save yourself from its impending disaster, Riku, but also from the trauma of having to face it."

And it was only after Yen Sid had said this, that Riku noted there _was_ a figure hanging back by the room's entrance, just like how Kairi had done herself, a few months prior.

Naminé.

Yeah... Riku didn't like this idea at all anymore.

But as Naminé chose the moment he was doubting, to run forward, hug him, and giggle gleefully, Riku decided that maybe it couldn't _all_ be bad.

If this helped verify his words to her, that she had good things to live for, then who was he to squirm?

And so, Riku let Naminé work her magic on him. And afterwards, his room—nay, his entire_house_—had never looked better, and Naminé had never seemed surer of herself.

11\. **Koi**.

"I'm not going to use this," Lea complained, while regarding his Keyblade Glider with a clinical eye.

Meanwhile, beside him, Xion tittered.

"It just looks like a Koi fish, you big baby," Roxas countered, crossing his arms over his chest, and enacting even more teenage rebellion than he had been before all of this—and that was saying something. "So it might not be the best looking thing in the world, but it'll do for ya, won't it?"

Really, Roxas couldn't even understand why Lea was even still _using_ that particular weapon.

And here everyone had thought he'd be too quick to go to his chakrams when things were over, but in reality...

Roxas had given up his own Keyblade, long before Lea had even thought of it.

Suddenly, though, Lea turned to face Roxas with a look in his eye that seemed to say he'd seen a ghost.

It was a pained expression that Roxas truly hated to see on his best friend, and it was one he knew he'd worn himself many a time.

"To you it looks like a Koi fish, Roxas. But to me? It looks like Dilan curled up on the ground—taking a nap, before opting to throw me and Isa outside of the castle again, got it memorized?

"And it was his doing that that made me curious—and had me draggin' Isa along—and ruining both of our lives.

"So, no, I don't want anywhere near that thing, and I never even wanna see it again!"

And thus, Lea stayed true to that ideal, and never picked up his Keyblade again: for which Xion tried her best to make him feel better, and to make him choose a different decision on the whole thing.

12\. **Llama**.

Kairi felt as though she was lacking a lot of understanding on what everyone around her was going through. And she felt truly awful for that fact, but she wasn't sure just what she was supposed to do about it.

So whenever it happened that everyone seemed to _especially_ be getting into a certain funk, she found herself going to one of the few worlds she'd been to—Kuzco's world—and hanging out with the llamas at Pacha's field there.

_This_ was a sadness she could understand: that of the animals that were in dire need of more attention, and that of how Kuzco had felt when he'd come here himself—thinking that maybe he _should_ just resign himself to being an animal, after all.

And though Kairi _did_ come to this world to try and understand _some_ kind of pain, it would have been an outright lie to say she didn't enjoy herself a _little_, while there.

The llamas were quite cute and almost to die for, she thought... Even if she did feel a bit bad for frequenting this area, like she was slacking in her duties, or something.

Ventus didn't seem to think so—when he ended up finding her there—and joining her some, though.

Actually, he said that he understood her attempts at coping, as he was kind of doing the same thing himself, by going to Disney Town's ice cream machine all the time.

And so, they began to chat, hang out, and heal in their own way together.

And through it all, they both made a great new friend.

13\. **Munny**.

For whatever the reason, it was the price of things having been upped that bothered Eraqus the most, after he'd returned to the land of the living.

The Moogles in Radiant Garden especially seemed to be trying to rob him of all his munny, he thought.

In fact, he was nearly about to cancel his purchase, and storm off angrily, when a hologram about the worlds' savior, Sora, began playing overhead.

Maybe unjustly, Eraqus felt his heart swell up with pride, in just thinking about the youth's triumphs.

And he found himself wishing, that... that Sora had been one of his own pupils, or maybe even his own son, maybe.

He felt guilty, in almost banishing such thoughts of his dear Terra, Ventus, and Aqua—that he did love so much—don't get him wrong.

But... he's begun to make more peace with his "Darker" and more selfish thoughts lately, and so he found peace with this one.

Darkness wasn't inherently evil, after all. And it was even needed to stay in balance with Light, much like how that boy, Riku, did it.

And so—upon now feeling happy, with his thoughts on those two boys—Eraqus turned back to the Moogle, and finally got his bangle—and he whistled to himself, as he kindly gave said creature his old one and outdated one as a gift.

14\. **Neapolitan**.

Mickey was beating himself up pretty hard about everything that had happened, Minnie had been quick to notice.

Right now? The King was marching headlong into despair, as he admitted—perhaps even for the first time—these thoughts: "And I really shoulda paid more attention to some'a those other trios, Minnie! If I had... Well, gosh: maybe things just woulda been different.

"Terra, Aqua, Kairi—and Roxas and his friends—I especially neglected. Naminé, too! I'm a failure of a King."

Despite herself, Minnie couldn't help but to laugh, as her husband hung his head low, and shook it.

Placing a dainty, gloved hand to her mouth, Minnie was quick to reassure him. "That's not true at all, Mickey! I mean, if you were as bad as you say you are, you wouldn't be here making this new 'Neapolitan' ice cream for the trios that they like so much, would you?

"Everyone makes mistakes, Mickey, but try not to beat yourself up for them. And really, at the heart of all this, it's Xehanort's fault. Not yours. So try and lighten up, dear."

And to that wisdom, the King was only too happy to listen.

He even ended up doing the dishes when they were both done with their task, so that Minnie wouldn't have to.

And Minnie? She added a fourth, Rocky Road, flavor to the dish. It was only right for Mickey to want to help the children find some happiness, now that they were actually in reach of it, after all.

But this time, Minnie was going to make sure that she was involved with it the entire way through!

15\. **Orange**.

Jiminy was probably taking what had happened to everyone a bit _too_ much to heart.

Really, he'd just been pacing around in thought—carrying his umbrella in hand, and trying to figure out how he could have helped more, instead of just having recorded things in the Journal—when he came upon an orange that had been cleaved in half.

And without really thinking about it, Jiminy stepped into the bottom part of the citrus—almost like how Sora might have felt, when he was sinking into the Darkness in his dreams (something that Jiminy thought he himself probably deserved to do, after having helped craft Data Sora, who they had put through the same thing—until Sora ended up at Disney Castle, and finding him there.

And the youth peered down at the little cricket, much like how Jiminy thought Sora must've looked at Winnie the Pooh all the time, when associating with him.

And feeling more than a little embarrassed—though grateful for Sora's help, as he gently helped him up and out of the fruit—Jiminy decided that maybe he'd leave the heavy thoughts to someone else, but maybe still help out just a bit more—by maybe being someone's conscience again.

16\. **Peace**.

Aqua didn't really know when it had started, but somehow, she and Xion had ended up hanging out every Friday night together.

The girls had at first just meant to practice fighting with their Keyblades—something that they both loved to do—but eventually it just turned to normal friendship, and the girls would just do whatever they felt like on the Fridays, and find peace in doing so.

They especially liked to play Twister, and—for something even weirder—they would put food onto the mat while they were playing, so that they could snack if they needed to, and if the game ended up going on for too long.

They always ended up on the opposite side of the mat from where their favorite food was, though. And thus, the two would have to lithely give the said piece of candy to their friend, all the while that they tried their best not to lose the game.

And eventually, Aqua realized why it had somewhat become more than just a game to Xion:

For someone who had once been a tangled mess of people—a person who hadn't even been meant to exist, even—and had had to battle one of them...

Winning /ithis/i balancing game was just something that solidified Xion's existence for her, and made her all the happier.

And Aqua couldn't begrudge Xion that in the slightest.

So once she was sure that this wasn't a bad obsession of Xion's, she continued to let Xion have the choice to play this came, and… to even enjoy the euphoria that came with having a new best friend.

17\. **Queen**.

When Pence had heard about this "Ephemera" girl—who was cleaning up the charts at all the new Struggle Tournaments, like she was its queen, almost—his first thought was that it had to be one of Sora's friends.

After all, they had a strength that didn't exactly belong in Twilight Town, and nearly always allowed for them to one-up Seifer (much to his, Hayner, and Olette's amusement).

So watching the tournament unfold with his friends, while at the other bracket, Pence waited for the new mystery competitor to come along, and show their face to match off against the champion.

Part of him really wished that it were actually Roxas, so they could strike up the friendship they'd apparently had in the Virtual Twilight Town again.

But knowing that that time would come eventually, Pence excitedly waited for this pretty girl to show her face. Who knew? Maybe she'd even end up being his girlfriend!

Except, as it turned out, Ephemera really wasn't a female at all, but rather another Keyblade wielding boy, with some platinum, windswept hair.

Pence was only disappointed for about a minute, but after the boy—thankfully!—made a fool out of Setzer, like Sora and Roxas both once had, Pence could tell just by the guy's gait and friendly smile that they were going to be fast friends.

And so he smiled, too.

18\. **Running**.

Though many people would end up questioning the new weird—but apparently "amaz-R-ing"—fashion line that had swept Shibuya like wildfire, and the strange girl that had set it into being, Neku was the only one who would really know the whole story. Or part of it, at least.

Upon having _somehow_ been chased by the Noise in the _RG_ of all places, Kairi had come running by Molco, as if hellhounds themselves were nipping at her ankles.

And when Neku had asked the girl—that he'd only later realized was Sora and Riku's friend—what was wrong, her only answer had been that she was fixing a discrepancy.

It was only now, however, that Neku's clinical mind had made sense of it all.

Oh. The time that he, Shiki, and Joshua held all held their hands out together, had made Sora think they were a trio like them, huh?

And since Sora and Riku had gotten to meet Joshua and Neku's own girl friend, in a place that they frequented so much, Kairi had thought it only right to return the favor, by introducing herself to _them_.

Mostly—though Neku, at least, found the trend that Kairi had unknowingly started really stylish—Orangeylocks was upset about the whole confusing thing (as if he'd ever be in a trio with a creep like Joshua!).

But if nothing else, he was just glad he'd gotten to meet "Sora's" version of "Shiki", and not his version of "Joshua".

19\. **Sleep**.

In a lot of ways, sleep was the only luxury that Roxas had against the thoughts that liked to plague him in the day.

So for a while, he ended up doing that far too often—wasting away the new life he'd been so graciously given—but he really didn't see a better option.

Then, however, Roxas decided he hated the whole idea of it, because Sora and Ventus had done enough sleeping for all three of them, dang it, and he didn't want to be compared to them anymore!

So after he'd had that particular thought, he found himself becoming an insomniac: not snoozing at all if he could help it, but rather skateboarding or playing the guitar twenty-four/seven.

The only problem? He liked sleeping way _too_ much, so there he ended up in another conundrum.

He had thought that sleep would win out, and that he'd just go into another volunteer coma, but then DiZ—no, Ansem the Wise—had found him.

He'd told Roxas that if he wanted something to do, and a way to keep his mind off of things, why not come with him to learn how to encode data?

And strangely enough... Roxas ended up doing just that—finding relief in realizing that a simulation would never fool him again, and...

The fact that he was now better enjoying the _real_ world, with Ansem by his side: someone Roxas found he could never hate again, and who—as far as he was concerned—had definitely made amends for his actions.

And just like that, Roxas had a new and better life, and even a father figure to help see him through anything in the years to come: a luxury that hadn't always seemed possible to Roxas, but something he now had—and hadn't before, in his formerly awful life—indefinitely.

20\. **Trains**.

Vanitas ended up liking trains in his new life.

He couldn't say why, exactly, but maybe because it was as much as an adrenaline rush, as causing mayhem had once been for him?

In any case, Vanitas was really enjoy his new, parkour life—and being good and on the side of Light, though he'd never tell anyone that—but it all threatened to come crashing down, when he learned that Roxas had once jumped atop the moving tram on Market Street.

Yeesh. And here Vanitas had nearly all ready given up on his endeavor, when he'd heard that that Rinoa Heartily girl—as well as Zack Fair—had once had a history of doing the same thing.

Was there nothing he could be original in? In fact, part of him nearly wanted to kill that evil twin, for even _daring_ to—

Wait. Except Roxas wasn't Ven at all, was he?

And for that matter, it seemed that Vanitas and Roxas even had a bit in common, and could understand each other? Well, color him surprised!

So when Vanitas wasn't having fun paling around Roxas, there was a part of him that wondered why he was okay with this person—of _all_ people—somewhat being like him?

Shouldn't that have just fueled his former, Dark desires so he'd want to kill him even moreso?

…But maybe, in reality, Vanitas had been looking for this sort of thing his whole life.

As it was, Roxas was just enough like him and _not_ like him (and definitely—and thankfully, as far as Vanitas was concerned—not like the loser Ventus), that it all worked out.

And jumping on trains together gave Vanitas purpose.

Never before had Vanitas ever felt so at peace or free.

It was... a good feeling for change, and one he would gladly live with.

21\. **Unsure**.

Riku Replica was very unsure about getting his own life, and having to act normal around so many people he had met before.

Was he really meant to be his own being like them? He couldn't figure how he could ever manage that, when he'd never really even _thought_ of himself as separate, and he…

He had ruined things so badly last time. His murder of Zexion (though Ienzo was fine now, apparently) troubled him strongly, you see...

Which was weird, since he'd been all high and mighty before—thinking that absorbing more Darkness was the only thing that would help differentiate him, and thus he'd acted accordingly—but now?

Now he—Ukir—_was_ trying to act like a decent human being, since he'd been awarded this chance, but...

He wasn't sure he really even deserved it.

As far as he knew, Data Sora (and maybe even Data Riku, Roxas, and Naminé?) was a much better, and more real person with a heart. So if he hadn't gotten the chance to be his own person, why should he? Ukir couldn't help thinking.

It was Xion who put everything into perspective for him, as he watched her—struggle sometimes with the knowledge about herself, yes, but—mostly shine.

So when one night in particular, she grabbed onto his hand to help lead him into a party, he didn't fight her.

Instead, he allowed her to take charge this time, and he looked at the sky—not seeing the phantom promise he _hadn't_ made to Naminé anymore—but new possibilities instead.

22\. **Vendetta**.

"Do you think it's weird..." Terra asked Ven one day, while the two of them hung back out at The Land of Departure, and fired some of the fireworks they'd commandeered from The Land of Dragons into the night sky. "That Riku didn't react as strongly to Xehanort's death as he maybe should heave? He had a vendetta against him like I did, I mean, and-"

"Ehh. Lighten up, Terra. Let's not think about that now. 'Kay? I mean, Sora and Riku are coming over here soon—to take a load off from the girls, I guess, right? So we don't want Riku to sneak up on us, all ninja like, and hear you gossiping about him."

In reality, Ven was pretty curious and astounded at Terra's questioning—and all it could mean—and he knew that he probably should have taken it seriously, to find a suitable answer.

But... there was a part of Ven that thought that him being silly _was_ exactly the solution needed to all of this. Terra was just (understandably and justly) overreacting with worry for his Successor.

And so Ven just needed to remind him that they were going to have a fun filled night with nacos all too soon, and that everything would be all right!

Apparently, Terra felt the same way. For ruffling Ven's hair as he was like to—and even looking away from the smaller boy, as he grinned some—Terra relented that, "Yeah. You're right, Ven. And even moreso... Let's not think about it all. That's a can of worms I really don't want to get into, thank you very much.

"Now c'mon," Terra continued, as he slapped Ven on the shoulder and headed off towards the Summit. "Last one down the mountain's a rotten egg!"

After that, Ven took straight off after Terra. And even when Sora and Riku arrived, none were the wiser that the other two had just acted much in the way that Sora and Riku had used to behave.

23\. **Winnie**.

"I do worry, Sora..." These were the words of Winnie the Pooh, as he and Sora sat on a log, and hung out under the star-filled sky that they both loved so much. "That maybe once again, when you leave, the pages of my world will become a scattered, and I might forget my very good friend again. And what shall poor Winnie the Pooh do then, I think?"

This had struck a nerve. Pooh's haven forgotten about him... Well, it really stung sometimes, and it was something that Sora usually chose _not_ to think about.

And he... he would've been lying, if he said such a thing wasn't possible again. As Eraqus' pupils had said, after all, this book had been tracking unwanted attention for a long time now.

But even so, Sora knew that everything would be fine. That was why:

"Our memories aren't something that are just etched into our memories, Pooh, or even just in our hearts! But as I've learned... the _Worlds'_ hearts will always remember stuff for us!" Sora nearly concluded, as he stretched his arms wide, to drive the point home even more for his dear friend. "And that... that's a pretty big honor, if you ask me, and all that we could ever really hope for, I think.

"So, what d'ya say we go draw some pictures of us together all over this world? That way, even if these pages and memories get lost, those pictures—and the thoughts and feelings with them—will always be waiting to greet you again."

And yeah... Sora really wasn't at all surprised when the silly little bear ended up hugging him for his speech, but all the same… he was very happy for it.

And as it happened, and Sora looked up at the moon once again, he prayed—and knew—that this very world would always remember this moment for them.

So that, if on the off-chance Naminé messed up his memories again—or something equally less likely to happen—this very world would always be ready to help bring him back home to this awe-inspiring truth.

24\. **Xing**.

"'The Complete Poetic Works of Ped Xing,'" Terra read aloud, whilst he blew off the crop of dust that laid on the book Sora had gotten him for his birthday.

Upon having skimmed through just a few of the "wealth" located there, Terra firmly closed the tome, and looked at the younger boy with a question in his voice. "I feel like you're trying to insinuate something here, Sora."

"What?" said boy was quick to try and defend himself, as he moved his arms in some rapid movements. "I got that depressin' stuff for Roxas, thinkin' that it would be good for him, but apparently he's taken to simple-minded stunts these days, in orde' ta find some closure.

"To be honest, I don't really know _what_ his deal is right now. But this book has to be perfect for someone like you, who's apologizin' all the time. Right?!"

To that, Aqua could only look disapprovingly at Sora, for Terra's sake—as she laid a comforting hand atop his shoulder—and to magically send that book to another world, where someone named Dave would one day pick it up...

25\. **Yolanda**.

"So, y'know, this was kinda weird," Goofy told everyone gathered on Destiny Islands, as he scratched his head uncertainly, and peered at Terra, Ventus, and Aqua in particular.

"But Aqua, I've been findin' a lot of worlds where there are dancers lately, but none o' them Heartless. And in most of those places, they kinda have names like yours! There was one girl named 'Yolanda', and I ran across two ladies with 'Mari' in their names.

"But then, at the place with the one 'Marisol' girl, ther' was someone there named 'Aquanette'! Isn' that somethin'? Why, maybe they're some of your long lost family, and now ya can safely go to 'em!"

"I dunno about that," Sora was the one to reply, as he turned apologetic eyes onto Goofy's own. "I mean, it's a _great_ theory, Goof! And one I _want_ to be true, if it means people torn apart by Xehanort's schemes might have more family out there this way, but I...

"I really doubt that Captain Jack Sparrow and Jack Skellington are related for instance, y'know? But what are your thoughts on it, Aqua?" Sora finished off his statement, as he tried to turn and face the other woman... who had apparently passed out onto the floor.

"Oh, didn't she know that some people from the other worlds share our names? It looks like maybe she needs to get out more. Ehehehe."

Thankfully, Goofy was able to help Aqua back up to her feet, and to get her feeling a whole lot better after the fact.

Sora, on the other hand, was now feeling way too awkward to try and help in the slightest.

26\. **Zion**.

"I'm really glad that you're back in my life again, Xion," Roxas told his best friend, all the while that he held both of her hands in his own, and leaned ever closer to her. "My life wasn'; the same withou' 'chu, and I can really say that with assurance and knowledge now."

"Eww, and aren't you glad that her name wasn't 'Zion'? Otherwise it might have taken you even longer to get her back into your life, you loser. Haha!"

Unfortunately having to pull away from Xion—from where she stood on Moonlit Hill—as if he'd been burned, Roxas turned to where Shock was standing behind him, teasing him, with murder in his eyes. How he still hated these little kids...

And just now, she'd made him fear that Xehanort was back, and going to say he'd made a new Recusant's Sigil with the letter "Z", or something.

Sure, that hadn't ended up being the case, but still… just what had he ever done to deserve this?

Oh, okay, so Xion was kissing him on the cheek now, Roxas bleatingly acknowledged, as he stopped hanging his head, and looked up to the blushing girl.

That was—that was good. Most definitely good!

Suddenly, the former number XIII felt all the better—and that maybe he could even do anything, with this girl by his side, that was.

And as he was even thinking this while looking up into the sky of a world he despised, that truly meant something. It honestly did.

Roxas—perhaps the one that had it the worst out of everyone—had now completely mended.

And continuing after him, all of the rest of the friends would, too.

And then, they would all set off on their next journey with happiness, but most importantly: together.

**Author's Note: If you caught all of the Disney references in this (especially one certain one), I'll marry you. Seriously, there are a TON in here, which…**

**I'm glad I took the time to do, because most people really seem to lack the Disney aspect in their KH stories, but I digress.**

**I really wish that I could go into great detail about all these prompts, but as that would take way too long, I'm not going to!**

**Be sure to tell me YOUR favorites, though (mine was the Winnie the Pooh one, FYI), and ask questions, if you want to… And sorry if a few of these are a bit weird…**

**To be honest, I don't really want ALL of these characters to come back in KH (like Vanitas, for instance). But as I had a ton of letters to fill, and I know a lot of people write such fics where most people DO get a second chance, I thought I'd put my own spin on it, just for fun.**

**I also wanted to put things like Leon's feelings—and Pooh's in here, too—because most people seem to neglect them.**

**And this: this is they're story, too, that'll be somewhat ending with KHIII. Leon especially has greatly been affected by Xenahort, so I feel it should be addressed.**

**And I don't know if you noticed, but for the most part, I've tried to do interactions in here that we haven't seen? That's what KHIII's going to be all about, right? So that's why you get things like Aqua and Xion friendship (yay for passing the Bechdel Test!), rather than RokuNami stuff, in this fic, in case you're wondering why something might have been missing.**

**Though one day I might tackle those ones, too, or maybe even do a more massive fic, where I try to have EVERYONE who needs to interact after III do so. IDK.**

**But regardless, be sure to tell me what you think about all of this. Please and thank you!**

**This was a lot of fun to do, guys—like so much fun, actually; you have no idea (especially since I haven't written canon in a long time)—but also really exhausting, so this is Shanna signing off for now.**

**Peace, all, and thank ya.**

**P.S. I'm hoping now that I've read the KH1 novel, that these babies are ESPECIALLY in character now. So here's hoping, anyway…**


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